1Consumer Electronics

For years, venture firms shied away from the high costs associated with hardware startups. But crowdfunding and cheaper manufacturing processes have made hardware a viable investment option. No industry benefited from these trends more than consumer electronics, where sparkly gadgets and gee-whiz imagery wowed consumers.

Some 31 deals were completed in the sector last year, beating out the previous high of 29 hit amid the dot-com boom in 1999. The total amount of venture capital invested in consumer electronics has been rising in recent years, reaching $847.6 million in 2013, up from $441.7 million in 2012.

3Food

Recent years saw a small but bubbling environment for upstart beverage companies. In 2013, investors got hungry.

General food products (a category that leaves out specialty and dairy foods) had its best year ever, completing 11 deals–as many as in 2011 and 2012 combined. The amount invested–$47.3 million–was up from $38.7 million in 2012.

Representative deals in the sector included healthy-snacks makers like Bare Snacks and Halfpops.

Their many competitors helped push the number of deals in this sector to an all-time high of 103. Investors gave those companies a total of $864.9 million.

Despite that impressive figure, the upstarts still have a long way to go before they raise the kind of cash that the dot-com boom saw: In 2000, $2.15 billion was invested into 88 data-management companies.

5Education Media and Services

Online educational services and massive online courses are pushing education in new directions, and venture capital has fueled much of the effort. The industry for educational and training media and services in 2013 reached levels not seen since the dot-com era.

Following a peak in 2000, the number of deals in the sector has risen in each of the past six years, hitting 54 last year. The amount invested also has been on the upswing, reaching $414 million.